The arrogance of four Canadian sealers finally caught up with them. They have been getting away with illegal activity for so long that some have become emboldened to flagrantly violate the law.

On March 28th, 2005, a day before the scheduled Canadian seal hunt was to start, four sealers decided to get a jump on their fellow sealers. They began to kill seals unaware that their activity was being recorded by high powered video and photographic equipment from the air.

Canadian Fisheries officers boarded the sealers' vessel two days later at Port Saunders, Newfoundland, and served a warrant on the men for illegal sealing.

The four sealers were convicted on June 5th, 2006, but the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans kept the convictions quiet until this week.

The four Newfoundlanders convicted in a Corner Brook, Newfoundland, provincial court were Harlan Warren and Perry Warren, both of Margaree; Glen King, of Fox Roost; and Norman King, of Burnt Islands.

Each man was fined $1,500. As well, Harlan Warren was fined $500 for failing to carry an at-sea observer.

All of the illegally caught pelts were forfeited, at a value of $9,071.

Sealers who assaulted Sea Shepherd crew a few days later were not charged although the assault was documented and the evidence presented to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Mounties refused to press charges and accused the Sea Shepherd crew of provoking violence from the sealers by being present on the ice. Eleven Sea Shepherd crew were arrested and ordered to pay fines of $1,000 each for the "crime" of documenting the killing of a seal.

At least the seal killers were fined $500 more for illegally slaughtering seals than the Sea Shepherd crew were fined for witnessing the slaughter. Perhaps we are making some progress after all.